A Second Hand Memory

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Woody Allen watchers, of whom there are apparently fewer these days than there used to be, know that his work frequently reflects an admiration for imposing predecessors. More than anything, this is a manifestation of Allen's wide-ranging command of cultural history. Over the years he's made his most frequent nods in Ingmar Bergman's direction. But Allen has tested his mimetic powers on others, too -- not only when spoofing them, as in his Gustave Flaubert-tweaking short story The Kugelmass Episode, or honoring them.

Occasionally, the mischievous Allen goes straight, like an errant schoolboy abruptly deciding that he'd better buckle down to his homework or risk having to repeat a grade.[...]